Île aux Cerfs with Kids: How to Visit, What to Do, and Why We Stayed the Night

Most people visit Île aux Cerfs as a day trip. They catch a speedboat from the east coast, spend a few hours lounging on the white sand, have a barbecue lunch on a nearby sandbank, and head back to the mainland in the late afternoon. It is an undeniably fantastic day out. We know this is true because we spent a morning on the public beach ourselves, and even with the crowds, it is absolutely beautiful.

However, we did not actually do it as a day trip. We stayed overnight at the Bubble Lodge, which is the only accommodation on the entire island. When I compare the two experiences, there is really no contest. The day trippers all left at around 5pm. After that, the island was entirely ours. We walked on the private beach at sunset with no one else around, enjoyed a three course dinner at the golf club restaurant, and went to sleep in a transparent bubble looking straight up at the Mauritian night sky.

This post covers both options. I will walk you through the classic day trip which most families will do, alongside the overnight stay which is the version I highly recommend if your budget allows for it!

Book our recommended tour here: Île aux Cerfs and GRSE Waterfall Catamaran Cruise with BBQ Lunch (Use code TODDLERTRAVELDIARIES5 for 5% off via the GetYourGuide app)

Why Everyone Wants to Visit Île aux Cerfs

Île aux Cerfs is a small island located just off the east coast of Mauritius, sitting beautifully inside the largest lagoon on the island. The name translates to Island of Deer, although there have not actually been any deer here for quite some time! What you will find instead is about two kilometres of pristine white sand, calm lagoon water in two distinct shades of turquoise, an 18 hole golf course, several beach restaurants, and the incredible Bubble Lodge.

The island is privately managed. While it is not a completely untouched uninhabited paradise, it is genuinely stunning. The combination of sheltered lagoon water and the shallow natural pool located between Île aux Cerfs and the neighbouring Île Marguerite makes it one of the absolute best spots in Mauritius for young children to swim safely.

Why We Kayaked to the Waterfall Instead

Most day trip operators package Île aux Cerfs and the Grand River South East (GRSE) Waterfall together as a single full day excursion, which makes complete sense. The waterfall sits at the end of the GRSE river about 500 metres upstream from the coast, and the speedboats can easily navigate up the river to reach it.

We actually chose not to do it that way, because we were staying at Otentic Eco Tents, the beautiful glamping lodge located on the riverbank, so used their free kayaks to paddle 15 minutes upsteam to the GRSE Waterfall. It was the very first time we had taken our daughter kayaking. The water was calm, kids lifejackets were provided, and the waterfall at the end was worth every single paddle stroke.

If you are staying at Otentic for a night or two before heading over to Île aux Cerfs, I strongly recommend kayaking to the waterfall rather than doing it on a boat tour. It is a completely different and more active experience, and it frees up your island day to just focus on the beach. You can read more about that in our Otentic Eco Tent Experience Review.

Check availability and current rates for Otentic Eco Tent here (Rates start from around £110 per night and include breakfast, boat transfers, and activities such as kayaking).

If you are not staying at Otentic, the combined boat tour is definitely the best way to see both sights in one very good day out.

How to Do the Classic Day Trip

Day trips to Île aux Cerfs depart from Trou d'Eau Douce on the east coast, which is a small coastal village about 60km from Port Louis. Most tour operators offer hotel pickup from anywhere on the island for an additional fee. This is definitely worth taking if you are staying in the north or west and do not want to drive across the island early in the morning.

Speedboats make the 20 minute crossing to the island throughout the morning. Catamaran cruises take a bit longer but are much larger and more stable, which is really worth considering with young children who might not enjoy a fast bouncy crossing on a small speedboat.

Most full day excursions follow a very similar structure. You depart from the mainland in the morning, stop at the GRSE Waterfall to take photos, and then cross over to Île aux Cerfs for two or three hours of free time on the beach. A barbecue lunch is usually served either on the island itself or on a small nearby sandbank, and the return trip brings you back to the mainland in the mid afternoon.

The tours are well organised and the lunches usually include grilled fish, chicken, salads, fresh fruit, and drinks. It's an easy way to experience Ile aux Cerfs as a family if you're tight on time.

Book our recommended tour here: Île aux Cerfs and GRSE Waterfall Catamaran Cruise with BBQ Lunch (Use code TODDLERTRAVELDIARIES5 for 5% off via the GetYourGuide app)

The Public Beach with a Toddler

The public beach on Île aux Cerfs is a long wide stretch of white sand in a sheltered bay. Beach bars and restaurants serve food and drinks throughout the day. There is even a small playground area for young children.

The beach is at its absolute busiest between 11am and 3pm when all the day tripper boats are on the island simultaneously. If you are going on a day trip, arriving early and leaving before the peak afternoon crowd makes a massive difference to how the experience feels.

For young children in the water, the absolute best spot is the shallow natural lagoon between Île aux Cerfs and Île Marguerite. The water here is incredibly shallow, completely calm, and warm like a bath. Our daughter was in it immediately and refused to leave. Just one quick note on the water around the island: there are sea urchins in places, particularly around the rockier sections. Make sure you watch out for them as even if you're wearing water shoes it will still pierce through.

When we visited the public beach the morning after our Bubble Lodge stay, it was beautiful. However, it was also noticeably busy, and the contrast with having had the island completely to ourselves the previous evening was stark. The beach is stunning and absolutely worth visiting, but if you are weighing up a day trip versus an overnight stay, that contrast is really important to know about.

The Ultimate Splurge: Sleeping in a Bubble

The Bubble Lodge is the only accommodation on Île aux Cerfs. There are just four transparent bubble structures, each sitting on a private raised deck with direct beach access. They feature a queen bed, a very comfortable sofa bed, a private open sky shower, a coffee machine, and a dedicated butler who arrives on a golf cart whenever you call.

The whole magical experience is covered in deep detail in our Bubble Lodge Île aux Cerfs Review. The summary version is this: the day trippers leave around 5pm, and after that the entire island belongs to you. We walked the private beach at sunset with our daughter while she collected sea shells and we hunted for crabs. We had a three course dinner at the golf club restaurant, and we went to sleep under the stars listening to the crickets and the ocean.

Because there are only four bubbles, they fill up incredibly fast. You absolutely must book early if you want to experience this.

Check availability and current rates for the Bubble Lodge here (Rates start from around £200 per night and include breakfast, dinner, boat transfers, and a complimentary golf lesson).

The Perfect Two Night East Coast Itinerary

If your schedule allows for it, the sequence we did makes for one of the best back to back experiences in Mauritius. We did Otentic Eco Tent first for incredible jungle glamping and the best food of our trip, and then headed straight to the Bubble Lodge for a private island experience under the stars. The contrast between the two nights is exactly what makes each one feel so incredibly special. From Otentic, you simply take their free morning shuttle boat over to Île aux Cerfs, check into the Bubble Lodge in the afternoon, and have the island to yourselves by the early evening.

Quick Survival Tips for Families

• Arrive early: Whether you are day tripping or staying over, the beach and the water are at their absolute best in the morning before the crowds peak.

• Watch out for sea urchins: Especially with children around the rocky sections of the beach where sea urchins love to hide. The sandy stretches and the shallow lagoon are fine without them, but make sure you keep on checking and bring a pair of water shoes.

• Book tours in advance: The combined Île aux Cerfs and GRSE Waterfall tours are incredibly popular and fill up quickly, especially in July, August, and over the Christmas period.

• Bubble Lodge: Confirm your sleeping arrangements and cot requirements when booking, and make sure to ask about the golf lesson booking process when you check in!

  
  

Why You Should Make the Trip

Île aux Cerfs is absolutely worth visiting however you choose to do it. The beach is just as spectacular as the photographs suggest, the shallow lagoon is perfect for young children, and a barbecue lunch on a sandbank in the middle of the Indian Ocean is a very good way to spend a family afternoon.

If you have the budget then staying overnight at Bubble Lodge transforms a great beach day into something else entirely. The island after 5pm is peaceful in a way that day visits simply cannot replicate, and sleeping under the stars on a private island feels magical.

For everything else we did in Mauritius, read our full 2 Weeks in Mauritius with Young Kids itinerary. If you are trying to decide where to base yourselves on the east coast, our Where to Stay in Mauritius with Kids guide covers the best family friendly hotels across the entire island.